Sonnet 14
Alas, have I not paine enough my friend,Uppon whose breast, a fiercer gripe doth tyre,Than did on him, who first stole downe the fyre;While Love on me, doth all his quiver spend,But with your rubarbe wordes you must contend,To greeve me worse in saying, that desierDoth plunge my well form’d soule, even in the mierOf sinfull thoughtes, which doe in ruine ende.If that be sinne which doth the manners frame,Well stayed with trueth, in worde and faith of deede,Readie of wit, and fearing nought but shame;If it be sin which in fixt hart dooth breede,A loathing of all lose unchastitie;Then love is sin, and let me sinfull bee.
Words in this poem
- tyre n.
- Attire. See 2d and 3d Tire.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- greeve n.
- A manager of a farm, or overseer of any work; a reeve; a manorial bailiff. [AS. ger. Cf. Reeve an officer.]
- sinfull a.
- Tainted with, or full of, sin; wicked; iniquitous; criminal; unholy; as, sinful men; sinful thoughts. Piers Plowman. [AAS. synfull.]
- sinne adv.
- Old form of Since. [Obs. or Prov.Eng. & Scot.]
- stayed a.
- Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 14 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sir P.S.: His Astrophel and Stella Wherein the excellence of sweete poesie is concluded, Project Gutenberg ebook #56375; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Sidney, Sonnet 14, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/sonnet-14.html, id L04770.
Form and metre
Sonnet 14 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABBAACCADEDE-- friendA · tyreB · fyreB · spendA · contendA · desierC · mierC · endeA · frameD · deedeE · shameD · breedeE · unchastitie · bee
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Alas, have I not paine enough my friend, | 10 | ˘/····˘/·· |
| Uppon whose breast, a fiercer gripe doth tyre, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Than did on him, who first stole downe the fyre; | 10 | ·········· |
| While Love on me, doth all his quiver spend, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But with your rubarbe wordes you must contend, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To greeve me worse in saying, that desier | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Doth plunge my well form’d soule, even in the mier | 11 | ······/··/˘ |
| Of sinfull thoughtes, which doe in ruine ende. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| If that be sinne which doth the manners frame, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Well stayed with trueth, in worde and faith of deede, | 10 | ·········· |
| Readie of wit, and fearing nought but shame; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If it be sin which in fixt hart dooth breede, | 10 | ·········· |
| A loathing of all lose unchastitie; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Then love is sin, and let me sinfull bee. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.